Ex-Durham resident faces money laundering charge

DENVER — A former Durham resident with a local criminal record was arrested last week in Denver and now faces a slew of drug-related money laundering charges in Colorado.

By ANDREA BULFINCHabulfinch@fosters.com

DENVER — A former Durham resident with a local criminal record was arrested last week in Denver and now faces a slew of drug-related money laundering charges in Colorado.

Taylor Hills, 25, of Boulder, Colo., was charged with 17 counts of money laundering, 12 counts of illegal use of the mail, one count of a false statement on a loan application and one count of failing to file a tax return.

He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on Jan. 29 on the charges.

The case was investigated by agents attached to a homeland security investigations division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and staffers from the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Officers from the Boulder County Drug Task Force and the Boulder County District Attorney's office also participated. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Korver.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the indictment indicates that Hills “allegedly engaged in financial transactions, which transactions involved the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, that is, the distribution of controlled substances.”

The indictment further states that he “allegedly conducted financial transactions while knowing that the property involved in each transaction represented the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity.”

Hills also allegedly made “a false statement or report for the purpose of influencing the action of JP Morgan Chase, a federally insured financial institution, in connection with a vehicle loan application.”

Should Hills be convicted of the violations stated in these indictments, he is to forfeit “any and all of the defendants' right, title and interest in all property, real or personal, involved in such offenses, or all property traceable to such property, including but not limited to the following: 2008 Ducati motorcycle, and U.S. currency located in a Roth IRA.”

Durham Deputy Police Chief Rene Kelley said Hills developed a criminal record while living in Durham. In May 2010, he was arrested and found guilty of simple assault and possession of controlled drugs.

In Sept. 2009, he was the victim of a home invasion, in which four robbers entered a Scotland Road residence and tied up several of the residents, including Hills. An investigation revealed the robbers were after drugs, Kelley said.

And in 2010, Hills forfeited $15,000 in cash after it was intercepted by the Durham Police Department. He had intended to send the money to a person in California using a fake name. Hills lived at a residence on Route 4 before moving into the Scotland Road home, Kelley said.

It does not appear any of the charges brought against Hills in Colorado have any connection to Durham, Kelley said.

If convicted of money laundering, Hills faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $500,000 per count. If convicted of illegal use of the mail, he faces up to four years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 per count. If convicted of false statement in loan application, he faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1 million per count. If convicted of failing to file a tax return, he faces up to one year in federal prison and a fine of up to $25,000 per count.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt; rather, it means a grand jury has found sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.

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